Friends of Mineral Town: The Beginning
by Akeno
Summary: Follows the story of Jack Hawthorne as he moves to Mineral Town to try to sort out his life. Rough novelization of first spring season in Friends of Mineral Town. Drama Romance Comedy like, which is why it's under general.
1. Days 0 and 1

_Disclaimer/Author's Note: I do not own Harvest Moon, Metallica, AC/DC, the Walkman, the 'for Dummies' branch or anything else that may or may not appear in this fanfiction._

_Also, I would like to say a few things. In this fanfiction, I have changed Jack's age from the universally accepted 21 to 18, and changed his love interests' ages accordingly. Also, Jack's family will play a much larger role in this story as time progresses. This story is written in first person omniscient from Jack's perspective; and finally, any inconsistencies with the game are completely intentional. I do own the game. Thank you very much. Now, enjoy Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town: The Beginning: Days 0 and 1!_

**Sunday: Day 0**

Do you know how annoying it is to try to hear what someone is saying over an extremely loud electric guitar? Especially when you don't listen to heavy metal too often? Metallica. God forbid they say something understandable once in awhile.

Don't get me wrong. I don't listen to rock. At all. My name is Jack Hawthorne, and I am a future farmer.

I had with me backpack of clothes, a towel, and other essentials. I also carried a Walkman, and a few CDs. That was all I was taking to Mineral Town. The CDs weren't mine. They were a few rock CDs; you know AC/DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the works. A Frank Sinatra CD in there too. I think the last one is blues. Or jazz. I can't really tell the difference.

My uncle, a psychologist, says I was listening to those songs to 'vent my emotions' and a bunch of other psychological mumbo jumbo nonsense. Yeah, right. I hardly knew my grandfather, and when he died, it wasn't a huge surprise. What was a surprise was that he left me his farm. All I knew of farming was what he taught me, back in the years that my parents were cool.

They aren't anymore. My parents, I mean. They want me to go off to some Ivy League school, despite my SAT scores. They want me to stop dreaming about Mineral Town and the girl I met that summer. _I'm keeping my promise_, I thought,_ I'm coming back to see you._ That girl. I don't remember her name. Sounds corny. I want to find a girl whose name I don't even remember. Huge chance of that happening.

People might say I don't like my parents because I'm 18, fresh out of high school, and 'rebellious'. Whatever. That's not it at all. Years of negligence, mistreatment, and other things have led to a sour relationship between me and my parents. I'm not a social guy. The only friend I had through all that was my little sister, Jennifer.

I looked around the ferry that was going to Mineral Town. Almost no one was on it. There was an old couple reading _Home Decorating for Dummies_ and _How to Enjoy a Vacation with a Negligent Partner_. Yeah.

I stood up, took off my headphones, and went out to the deck. There was another guy looking out on the sea. I went up and said, "Hi."

"Hey man. What's up?"

He was friendly. Like I had known him for years. I hadn't, but I felt compelled to answer.

"Not much. I'm going to Mineral Town."

"Really? I'm going to Forget-Me-Not Valley."

The conversation went on from there. The guy's name was John Blackenfoot. His father had died, leaving him a farm in the boondocks. Neither of us knew anyone in our respective towns, so we promised to write each other as soon as we got settled in.

The boat jostled. I was holding my CDs in one hand and my headphones and CD player in the other. They all fell into the water. I watched as they fell. They were all burned CDs; I didn't like them in the first place.

The captain came on the P.A. system. _"I'm sorry for the inconvenience; we hit a small object in the water, no major problem. Uh, if you look directly in front of the ship, you can see the dock of Mineral Town. We'll be landing there in about 15 minutes. From there it will take 20 minutes to get to Forget-Me-Not Valley. Please have a wonderful day._

The P.A. system was crackly. It showed signs of old age. I was excited about getting to Mineral Town. No; more like anxious. When the 15 minutes were over, I stepped on to the dock, waved good-bye to John, and breathed in deeply. As I turned, I almost knocked over a stout old man.

"Why I never…Jack?" the old man said, a bit flustered.

"Uh…that's me, yeah," I said.

"Why Jack! How you've grown! I'm Thomas! Mayor of Mineral Town! Do you remember me?" He almost jumped up and down with excitement, so I nervously replied.

"Uh…sure?" He obviously didn't notice my questioning tone, because he pulled me onto the beach.

"Oh you simply must meet the other townsfolk. Doug, Carter, Barley, Basil, Lillia…" I began to look around. No offense to Thomas, but he was boring. Like a 50 year old geography teacher and an old grandpa telling stories of 'the war' all rolled into one. That kind of boring.

"…And Cliff, and Duke, and Jeff, and Karen, and Gotz…" We were in a square. A Town Square. It was a nice place. Its floor was all paved in cobblestone, and had some benches, and lampposts. It was…quaint. I wondered what it was called.

"This is Rose Square, where we hold the festivals. We're having a horse race in a few weeks." Well that answered that question. I made a mental note of the horse races, although I doubted I would attend. He showed me around town, but didn't introduce me to anyone. By the time he showed me the farm, it was dark. I don't know if you've ever been to the country. This wasn't city dark. This was country dark. And that means dark. According to Thomas the closest building was Gotz's cabin, in the middle of the dark woods, and the next closest was the blacksmith's shop up a long path to town.

"You'll need to unpack. You're grandfather's clock is set for 6:00 AM. You have no livestock or crops, but I left you some tools. You can also get honey from the bees on your tree, and some wild plants in the forest fetch for a lot. See you bright and early tomorrow!" Only one thing connected with me. _6:00 AM?_ But he seemed dead serious, so I nodded feebly. I was suddenly very tired. Looking out on the field, I saw weeds, stones, branches, and tree stumps. My grandfather must not have been feeling too well before he died.

I went inside my grandfather's 'house'. If you could call it that. A dresser, a TV, an alarm clock, a tool box, a table and some seats were all that furnished the shack. I let my backpack fall to the ground and opened it up. I had a notebook, some pencils, and some food. I also had some clothes in there, three identical outfits. A white shirt, red bandana, and blue overalls. I also had three pairs of underwear, five pairs of socks, two pairs of white gloves, a blue hat, and two pairs of black shoes. And a towel with tomato prints on it. My sister, who picked out everything, said they were 'farmer chic'. As for me, I'd rather not be 'farmer chic'. I dumped out all of my clothes, got my outfit for the next day ready, and put the rest of my clothes in my dresser. Then, I stripped down to my underwear and climbed into bed. I was kept awake by the heat of the shack, but eventually drifted of to a sleep filled with dreams of that girl.

**Monday: Day 1**

BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!

"Yipyipyipyipyipyipyipyipyipyip!"

That was my waking call. I opened my eyes to find it was still dark. I turned on my side. 6:00 AM. Of course. I got out of bed. A little puppy, all brown with a red bandana on, was barking at the alarm clock.

BEEP!"Yip!"BEEP!"Yip!"BEEP!"Yip!"

I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. Then, I picked up the alarm clock and chucked it across the room. It slammed into the wall, and it sounded like a few parts came undone inside, but it didn't stop beeping, so I walked over to it and threw it on the ground. It stopped.

The dog whimpered.

I called him Inu-kun.

After putting my tools in my backpack, which, my sister informed me, was called a 'rucksack', I stepped outside, only to almost knock Thomas over again.

Oh yeah; he _had_ said something about seeing me bright and early.

"Are you doing well Jack? Here," he said, and placed some bags into my hands, "They're seeds. Potato and Turnip seeds to be exact. Plant them; they can be your first crops!"

"Oh, um…thanks." For being an eccentric old man, Thomas wasn't half bad.

"Don't mention it. If you need more crops, which you will, go to the supermarket. Jeff and Sasha own it, and Karen, their daughter, helps run it. I think I showed it to you yesterday, but just in case, check your map. Do you have one? No? Then here." He placed a map on top of the bags I was holding. I hadn't answered any of his questions, and I was a bit worried that he went around carrying maps to offer to people.

I thanked him again, cleared an area for my garden, and planted the seeds. While I was watering them, Inu-kun came bursting out of my house, barking at some unseen object. He startled me, and I accidentally dropped the watering can. It was a cloudy day, so I knew it probably wouldn't dry out until tomorrow. I told myself to remember not to walk there. Then, I went exploring in the forest.

That was a bad idea. On the map of Mineral Town it looked like a few trees bunched together, but in person, the forest was huge. I picked up some funny looking grass (It was blue). Then I finally found my way onto a path. The path went two ways. After doing eenie, meenie, minie, moe, I went on the path that branched to the right. I ended up in a small thicket. A waterfall and lake were on my right and a little hot spring was to my left. I sighed and picked up some more grass, when I heard a voice behind me.

"Hi! Who are you?" It was a high-pitched girlie voice. I whirled around to see a girl, not more than 17, smiling back at me.

"I haven't seen you before. I'm Popuri, from the Poultry Farm. Who are you?" Popuri repeated.

"I'm Jack Hawthorne, from the farm." Wasn't my best introduction, but I was a little off guard.

"Don Hawthorne's grandson? From the Alexandria Farm?"

"Uh. Yeah."

"Wow! I'm going to have to tell everyone in town the new farmer is here! And he's a cute one…" She giggled and blushed. She was pretty, I'd give her that. Although she had pink hair and red eyes, she made it look good on her. And I liked the traditional little dress she wore, which, while it betrayed the farmer in her blood, also betrayed her nice figure. But she wasn't the girl I met ten years ago. The girl didn't have pink hair. Unless…

"Is your hair naturally pink?" Okay, bad idea. I watched her expression go from happy to unbelieving to angry in a second.

"Yes it is. And so is my mother's. So I would appreciate it if you didn't make such a big deal about it, and if you need to, then don't do it in front of my family, **_MR._** Hawthorne!" She stormed off. Well, like I said; I'm not a sociable guy. But getting rid of that girl; that was a new record, even for me.

I finished picking the grasses and dumped them into the shipping bin that Thomas said I should put them in. Then I walked into town. I wanted to get some seeds, so I tried to remember where Thomas had said the supermarket was, but I hadn't been paying much attention to him yesterday, so I ended up consulting my map again. After finding the supermarket, I softly opened the door, just to stumble in on a conversation.

"Karen, where are you going?" A male voice.

"Nowhere, dad." A soft, female voice, presumably Karen.

"Don't drink any liquor." The male voice again.

"Yeah, yeah− who are you?" No one spoke for a while. I realized the girl was talking to me. I decided to clarify.

"Who, me?"

"Do you see anyone else standing around here?" The girl seemed serious. Also very rude.

"Uh…"

"Wait a minute…brown hair…brown eyes…wears a rucksack…are you Jack Hawthorne?" Her voice suddenly became sweeter.

"Yes…"

"Wow! I'm Karen! Thomas mentioned you! You must need lots of seeds for the farm, right?" I nodded. "Wait here." She walked up to the counter. "Dad, can I give him some seeds?" Her dad, who Thomas had said was Jeff, seemed worried.

"W-well…" he stammered. He didn't seem to have much of a backbone. Of course, I didn't have one when talking to Karen either, but I had a good excuse. She was a total bombshell. She wore a nice-fitting white shirt and a purple jacket, and short jean shorts. Her hair was brown with blonde bangs, and her face was beautiful.

"Whatever happened to kindness to strangers, huh?" A thought popped into my mind, and Jeff seemed to read it.

"You weren't to kind to him at first either, dear."

"Ugh!" Karen seemed exasperated. She turned to me and gave a meek smile. Walking over to me, she said, "I'm real sorry. If my mom was here, she'd change his mind, but there's nothing I can do." I smiled back and turned to leave. It wasn't until after I left till I remembered what I had come for in the first place; the seeds. But it was to late now. I was too embarrassed that a knockout babe I didn't know tried to stick up for me in the first place; I couldn't go back in there. I began heading home when I heard my name being called out.

"Jack! Wait up!" I turned to see Karen waving at me. I stopped.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to apologize again. Today's Monday, right?" It was a weird question, but I bit.

"Yeah…"

"Well then, I can't do much today, but come back Wednesday, and I'll see if I can score you some seeds, 'Kay?" She was pretty. I almost blushed, but I managed to nod and whisper back, 'Okay'.

"See ya'!" She giggled and walked away. I began to walk home again, when I decided to check my rucksack. Aside from the notebook, pencils, and food from yesterday, I had some honey, a few bandage, and a map. I smiled. Day 1: Total Failure. When I neared my farm I heard some yelling off towards the place where Thomas had said the Poultry Farm was located. I went back to check it out.

"He was a potential customer and you yelled at him!" It was a male voice.

I seemed to be stumbling across a good deal of conversations today.

"He made fun of my hair color, Rick!" It was Popuri, and she was obviously talking about me.

"He probably just made a comment about it, you overreact way too much!" the boy, who I guessed was Rick, replied.

"Shut up, just SHUT UP!" Popuri ran out from a small walkway, which I assumed must have been her home, crying and sobbing. She whisked past me and turned in towards my farm.

"Popuri! Wait up!" Rick came jogging after her. "Hey are you Jack Hawthorne?" he asked, with a suspicious look in his eyes. "She's kind of upset about your mentioning her hair color. Can you go try to calm her down? Thank you," I sighed. Not replied mind you, sighed. He didn't even let me respond; he just walked away. I guess he thought that I'd feel obligated to do talk to her because it was my fault. Well, I felt no obligation whatsoever. But, I was going to my farm anyway, so I decided to talk to Popuri once I got there. I found her crying in front of the patch of dirt I had designated for my garden.

"Popuri? Are you OK?"

"What…sniff…do y-you want…sniff?" She looked at me with utter distaste.

"I just wanted to say that I'm…sorry…" I mumbled the last word.

"N-no…sniff…you didn't…sniff…Rick…just told you to…sniff" She turned to run away, and I began followed her. I didn't have to, though, because she slipped and fell on the ground…In the same place I had dropped my watering can. I had completely forgotten about the mud.

"Oh my…Are you alright Popuri?" I ran over to her. She had fallen face first, so I gently turned her on her back. Her dress had some blood and a tear at the very bottom. She had probably cut her self on the fall. "Let me help you," I said, and reached into my rucksack. Pulling out a bandage, I lifted up her dress as gently as I could, and placed the bandage on her cut.

"I'm…fine!" She said, yanking her foot away and getting up. I stood with her. "Now…just leave me alone!" She tried to run out of my farm, but slipped towards me. I grabbed her and held her up, and she fell with her head on my chest. It was a very awkward moment. Keep in mind I had a hot girl it my arms who was still very angry with me. After what seemed like an eternity, she gently pulled herself up, bracing herself on my shoulders. She looked into my eyes. I looked into hers. I shivered, and slowly the thought of moving my head in for a kiss popped into my mind. But then a call rang out.

"Popuri! Dinner!" Popuri looked back at me and smiled.

"What I meant was, I'm fine...thanks to you." She blushed, and then walked away. I stood there watching her for a while, until I heard Inu-kun barking at the shipping bin. I turned towards it, opened it up one found a bag and a note. The note read:

_Jack or Current Resident:_

_As you are not available at the moment, I have taken the liberty of taking your shipment and leaving the money for you. Your gains for today: 250 G._

_Mineral Town's Shipper,_

_Zack_

I smiled, picked up the bag, and emptied its contents into my hand. 250 G. I whistled, and Inu-kun looked up at me. I clapped, and he obediently followed me into the house. When I was inside, I stripped down to my underwear again, petted Inu-kun, slid into bed, and was soon dreaming dreams about turnips and potatoes.


	2. Day 2

_Author's Note/Disclaimer:_

_Akeno: Hi. I don't own Harvest Moon, or anything else that is protected by law that may appear in this fanfiction. On a brighter note, I have a mascot. His name is Inu-kun, also known as 'Jack's dog'._

_Inu-kun: Yip._

_Akeno: Ha ha, oh, you slay me, Inu-kun. Anyways, he's here to help me explain things and read the reviews. Actually, because he's incapable of human speech, he's really just here to be cute. And he's doing a great job!_

_Inu-kun: cocks head to one side_

_Akeno: Exactly. Now, to review my reviews! This one is from AriesGoddess. She writes: "_Hehe this is good! I also think its prity funny like his sister saying it was farmer chic and throwing his alarm clock on the grownd and the dog was barking to it that was so funny! there was some others but I won't name them all because well du! You wrote it... you know its funny! Keep this story up it rocks!_" Thanks, AriesGoddess! I'm glad you liked it! Keep reading, please!_

_Inu-kun: Yip._

_Akeno: Anyway, stay tuned for more Friends of Mineral Town: The Beginning!_

**Tuesday: Day 2**

I stirred from sleep the next morning irritable; but not as irritable as the morning before. I had set my watch's alarm for 6:00 AM, and it was softer than my grandfather's alarm. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I stood up and began walking toward my dresser when I stepped in something wet. I looked down. There on the floor was a puddle. I looked at Inu-kun accusingly. "Did you do this?" I asked. He whimpered. I sighed, picked up my shirt from yesterday and began wiping off my foot when a sudden pain shot through my stomach.

I was hungry.

Of course, I hadn't eaten at all yesterday. I finished wiping off my foot and walked over to my rucksack. There was a bottle of honey. I opened it up and tried to pour it into my mouth. It took a few seconds to get there, but when it did, it was worth it. It was…sweet. Exceptionally sweet. Pure, fresh honey, straight from the bee's nest. I reminded myself to get more later today. I dressed, and let Inu-kun outside, making a mental note to housebreak him when I got the chance. I turned around and walked to the TV. Farm chores could wait. I was tired. I flipped on the tube and began channel surfing, only to find that Mineral Town only had four channels. Wonderful. I settled on what looked like the weather channel and listened to the forecast.

'_-so those of you in FlowerBud Village, put on your coats, because it'll be windy today. In Mineral Town's weather forecast for today, it will be partly cloudy for the first half of the day. Around noon-time, rain is to be expected. Farmers remember to keep your livestock indoors, and there will be no need to water the crops today. As for Forget-Me-Not Valley, today will be cloudy, and rain showers are expected in the late afternoon tomor-'_

I turned off the TV and sighed. I wouldn't have to water my crops today, which was good news. As for Forget-Me-Not Valley, I had completely forgotten about writing to John. I made yet another mental note to write to him once I got the chance, which was hopefully soon. Then, I went outside.

A Chinese man was out there. He was sitting underneath my tree. I frowned. I didn't remember hearing about a Chinese man living in Mineral Town. I called out to him. "Hey! You! What are you doing?" The Chinese man looked up and smiled.

"Ah, you must be Jack! I am Won. How are you this fine morning?" I looked around. The sky was filled with large, black rain clouds; hardly what I'd call nice. But I simply said, 'Yeah'.

"Please come visit my shop sometime. I am a traveling business man, so I have many items that the local shop does not have. My shop is at Zack's house on Mineral Beach. Good day, sir!" I watched him as he walked away and shook my head. He was very strange indeed. I went over to the bee's nest, pulled out my bottle of honey, now half full (I was very hungry), and began to fill it up. Then, I looked around. Today was Tuesday. I thought of what I should do, when my stomach gave another growl. Obviously the honey had not been enough. I tried to remember if there was a place that served food in Mineral Town. Thomas' tour of the town came back to me in pieces.

'_And this is Doug's Inn. Poor Doug. His wife died years ago, leaving him to raise little Ann all by himself…she turned out to be quite a tomboy…Doug serves food during the day, and opens up the bar at night.'_

Right. I pulled out my map and tried to figure how long it'd take me to get there. Not to long, and the inn opened at 8:00 AM, so I'd have a bit of a wait on my hands if I went right now. And waiting in front of an empty inn in the wee hours of the morning didn't really appeal to me.

I set out for the little thicket I had found yesterday. I thought Popurri might be there. Unfortunately, I got a little lost. When I finally did get there, Popurri wasn't there. Instead, a red-headed girl with a bow in her hair was there. I walked up and said, "Hi."

The girl turned around. She was pretty. "Hi! Are you Jack Hawthorne?" I was a bit put off by her straightforwardness, but I nodded. "I'm Ann. I bet you're wondering how I know who you are, right?" I nodded again. "Well…Popurri told me. We don't usually talk much, but today, she told me all about you. How you're taking on the farming life all by yourself, and how you just moved in from the big city…and how you're kind of cute. And you know I can't really disagree with her." She smiled. It was a very awkward situation for me, trying to figure out how to reply to that statement; so I didn't.

"Are you the same Ann who works at the Inn?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yup. It's a nice life. Pretty quiet, kind of slow. I get to see almost everyone everyday, though, so that's nice." An awkward silence settled between us, but before I could think of anything to say, she spoke again. "Hey! You can't have much food, so why don't I treat you to lunch?"

_Lunch?_ I thought. I looked down at my watch to see it was already 11:00. It had taken longer to get to this little thicket than I had thought it would. "Um…sure. That'd be great." I looked up into the sky. The storm clouds were rolling in. I'd still have to come back to the forest to pick up some of the grass I needed for my daily shipment, but I thought I could beat the storm.

"Good," said Ann, "That's great. Why don't you go back to your farm first, though? I think you must have some dirty clothes from yesterday. And you could probably use a shower. We have a washer and a dryer at the inn, and hot and cold water upstairs. Whenever you feel like washing clothes or taking a bath, just come on by." She laughed and began walking out of the thicket, waving to me. Then, I heard her say to herself, "Looks like a storm's brewing. I'll have to find Karen to tell her not to come to the Hot Springs today…" I looked around. There was a hot spring in one corner of the thicket. So that was what the thicket was called. The Hot Springs.

About forty-five minutes later, I was in the shower of Doug's Inn. Ann had taken one whiff of my dirty clothes and declared she would 'deal with them', and Doug was working on the food that Ann had persuaded him to make. After I felt sufficiently clean, I stepped out and dried off with my tomato-print towel. I out on my last pair of clothes, and slid my hat on my head. Once I was downstairs, Ann had my clean clothes ready to take home, and Doug had a meal on the table.

"Come on, sit down, Jack!" Ann said. Doug nodded. I slid into a chair.

"Well don't just sit there, Jack, dig in! This food is fresh made by yours truly." Doug laughed and began attacking his food. Ann gave a little nibble, and then began attacking her food as well. I looked at my food. A burger and fries, with a large glass of water. Suddenly, hunger pains shot through my body again, and I ate my food as fast as I could. I went through seconds just as easily, and was just finishing polishing off my dessert when Doug said, "Slow down there, Jack!"

"Sorry, sir," I said after I had cleared my mouth with a gulp of water.

"Doug, not sir, Jack. And there was no harm done. A working man needs his food now, doesn't he?" He patted me on the back. "I like you. You should come by often now, you hear? I think Ann would like that too." He laughed and Ann blushed.

"Daddy! Don't tease me…" she sighed.

"I'm just joking, honey. But seriously Jack, come by any time. Just don't expect me to fix you a free meal every time!"

"Right, si- Doug." I nodded and picked up me clean clothes when I heard Ann gasp.

"Oh, no! I never got to tell Karen to not go to the Hot Springs! Zack still hasn't delivered their television yet…she wouldn't know its going to rain! She'll get caught out there!" I looked out the window. The sky was as dark as night, and it was only 1:50 PM. The lampposts had already turned on. I shook my head.

"Don't worry, Ann. I'll go drop off my stuff at my house and try to find Karen before it's too late." Ann smiled and whispered, 'Thanks', and as I ran out the door I heard Doug say, 'Now that is a decent fellow, yes sir.'

It was 2:15. I was en route to the Hot Springs after putting away my clothes and towel, shutting Inu-kun inside, and warning him that if he peed on anything, I'd leave him outside to sleep in his doghouse during the next storm.

I turned into the Hot Springs and there was, like Ann said there'd be, Karen, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the sky was black overhead. She was just staring out onto the lake. I walked up behind her. "Karen?"

She turned around and smiled. "Hi, Jack." She looked back out over the lake and sighed. "You know, when I was a little girl, I always thought I could meet the Harvest Goddess here. Carter said he knew how, but he never wanted to tell me." She smiled. "I'm much to old to believe that now, of course. She'd never be in this particular lake, would she?" She looked up at me, and it felt as if her big, beautiful eyes were peering into my soul. My knees shook a bit, but I steadied myself.

"Come on Karen. It's going to start raining soon." Just as I spoke those words, it began to drizzle. Karen sighed.

"Let's go. We can get to Gotz's house for shelter. We'll be drenched by the time we get there though," she said. I looked back out over the lake. Something that my late grandfather had told me was coming back to me. _'The Harvest Goddess loves things from the farm. A farmer who presents her with a great gift will be rewarded…'_ Things from the farm…I looked to Karen, who was waiting for me at the entrance to the Hot Springs.

"Um…Karen. Why don't you go on ahead? I'll catch up in a little bit." I hoped that she wouldn't ask why.

"Okay then." She didn't.

Once she was out of sight, I pulled out the bottle of honey I had gotten from the bees earlier that morning, and threw it into the lake. A shimmering shadow appeared on the surface, and a beautiful green-haired lady flew out.

"Why, hello Jack!" I looked at her, astounded. This was the Harvest Goddess? How old was she? She looked no older than Karen; and was just as pretty. And how did she know my name?

"Well, I'm actually several millennia old, though I'm glad someone as cute as you thinks I'm pretty. As for how I know your name…let's just say I know a lot of things." Okay. She could read my mind. That was a bit disturbing. But I wasn't here for idle talk, I needed…

"Help? Of course. What do you need?" I looked at her, shock still in my eyes. "Oh, alright, I'll stop reading your mind. But really, what do you need?" She seemed very cheerful for a Goddess.

"Um…I need you to slow the rain down. Just long enough for Karen and I to get to Gotz's house…if that's no problem," I hastily added.

"Well…alright. But just because I liked that offering." She winked and me and said in an ethereal voice, "Agreed. The rain shall stop; just long enough for Karen and Jack to get to Gotz's house. After that, the rain shall proceed with its natural course until it is finished." She smiled, whispered, "Come back soon!" and disappeared into the lake. As the rain slowed down, I saw Karen at the top of the hill. _Uh-oh_, I thought, _what did she hear?_

"Hurry up, Jack, the rain has stopped for a bit!" Obviously nothing at all.

As soon as we got to Gotz's house, the rain began again harder than ever, which would have been no problem…if Gotz would have let us in.

"Who's this?" He asked in a harsh, gruff voice.

"T-this is J-jack H-hawth-thorne, G-gotz," Karen said, while hugging herself.

"Mitch Hawthorne's son?" I winced at the mention of my father's name, but I nodded. "Ah…Mitch. He was a good man. Nice. Strong. Decent." I smiled inwardly. If Gotz knew my father nowadays, he wouldn't be so eager to reminisce, but being Mitch's son was actually useful for once. Apparently, Gotz decided that all Hawthorne men were decent and hard working and that included me, even if I was a city slicker. He let us inside and threw as both two towels. I frowned. I wasn't all that wet, and when I looked over at Karen, a pang of guilt shot through me. She had dried herself off and was using her towel like a blanket, but her teeth were still chattering. I walked up behind her.

"Take of your towel," I said. She obeyed, and I wrapped my dry towel around her. Then, I took her wet towel and wrapped it around her as well, so that the dry one was touching her body and the wet one was touching the dry one. She looked at me with a questioning look in her eyes, so I answered. "The dry towel will dry you off, and the two towels together will keep you warm." She blushed and managed a small thank you. Suddenly, Gotz grabbed me from behind.

"You're a smart man, Jack. And that was darn well decent, giving up your towel for Karen there. Tell me, how's old Don's shack keeping up for you?" Gotz and I talked for a while about the house. Then we talked about farm matters, and he said he'd be happy to fix up any farm building that needed fixing. After a few hours, the sun peeked out of the clouds. Gotz stood up.

"Well would you look at that. It's six-thirty in the evening. I'm sure Jeff will be worried sick about you, Karen. You should get going. You too, Jack." Karen gave back the towels and we both thanked Gotz for helping us.

"I should thank you too, Jack," Karen said, about halfway through the forest. I looked at her, a bit puzzled. "Without you, I'd have been drenched before I had made it to Gotz's house." She smiled at me. "I'm in your debt."

I shook my head. "No; it was the least I could do. You promised me some free seeds tomorrow, remember?" She laughed and shook her head.

"You really don't know how to act around women, do you Jack?"

"Nope," I said, shaking my head.

"Well, that's alright. You'll learn." She laughed. When we were at my house, I said goodbye and got ready to go inside. Suddenly she turned around.

"Thanks again, Jack," she said solemnly.

"Don't mention it, Karen." I smiled.

"See? I told you you'd learn." She stared at me with her big, shimmering eyes again, and I felt my insides do a back flip. Then, she turned and walked away. I shook my head and went inside. I saw a few puddles on the floor, and reminded myself to fix the roof; that is, until I saw the sheepish look on Inu-kun's face and the nervousness in his tail wag.

"Inu-kun!"


	3. Day 3

_Author's Note/Disclaimer:_

_Akeno: Hi! I don't own Harvest Moon, or anything else copyrighted by law that may or may not appear in this fanfiction. Now, welcome back to "Friends of Mineral Town: The Beginning"! Today's chapter is Wednesday: Day 3; the third day of Jack's adventures in Mineral Town. Now, I'm here with Inu-kun to talk about things._

_Inu-kun: Yip, woof, yip bark, arf._

_Akeno: Good idea! Why don't we talk about this fanfiction? I was originally planning on making a comedy; however, when making the first chapter, it veered away from the original comedic idea. While I still like to believe that it has traces of comedic ideas in it, this fanfiction has a more drama-ish feel, with out being to soap opera-like. This is why I labeled it under 'general'._

_Inu-kun: (pants excitedly)_

_Akeno: Okay! Let's finish off this Author's Note/Disclaimer by reading the review! jasonresno writes "_very well written, I like your style…it reminds me of Robin Hobb._". Thanks! I appreciate every review I get. Now, without further ado, I present to you, the third chapter in "Friends of Mineral Town: The Beginning". Please enjoy!_

**Wednesday: Day 3**

I woke up the next morning almost happy. Almost. Not quite. I felt as if I had made no progress on the farm. Of course, it had only been two days since I had started, and it would take much longer than that to make some notable progress. I got up and smiled at Inu-kun. After wiping up the mess he had made with the shirt I had worn during the rain, I had expected the floor to be covered with dog urine this morning. It wasn't. I whistled, but Inu-kun didn't come. Instead, he whimpered and began scratching the door.

"Oh!" He needed to pee. I threw on some clothes and opened the door. Inu-kun ran through it like a bolt of lightning. I looked up and saw an old, bald man with glasses standing there with a foal. "Um…hello? Can I help you, sir?" I asked. The old man just smiled.

"I hope you can help me. You are Jack, are you not?" I nodded, wondering what this was getting to. "Thomas mentioned you a few days back." He sighed and looked at the foal with sad eyes. "My name is Barley; I run the Yodel Farm. You see, this foal is…not doing well. He is very sickly. I would nurse him back to health, but I'm getting very old; almost so old that I can barely take care of the cattle and sheep. And my granddaughter, May, is far too young to take care of this one by herself…she can barely take care of her own, healthy pony." Then I realized where this was going to. "So…would you mind taking care of him?" Barley smiled. I thought about it for a few seconds.

"Yeah…what the heck, sure," I smiled.

"Oh wonderful, simply marvelous! In that case, you can even name him!"

"Um…alright. How about…Chestnut?" I said, wondering if that was a good name for a horse.

"Oh! Perfect! I'll be back in about a year to see how he's doing. Who knows…if you take extra-good care of him, I might even let you keep him!" Barley smiled. "Just make sure to talk to him every day. You can let him outside to play as well, and if you have a brush, it would be a good idea to brush him each day." He looked at the foal. "Good-bye Chestnut…Jack will take good care of you." He looked at me and smiled. "Take care, Jack. Come visit sometime soon now!" And with that, he walked away.

I looked at my new horse. "Well, Chestnut. You should run around a bit. Get some exercise. Get big and strong, now." Chestnut neighed in delight and began running across the fields. I smiled. Inu-kun walked up towards me and barked. I crouched down and began petting him. He seemed to like it at first, but then he ran towards the shipping bin. I opened up the bin to find another letter.

_Jack or Current Resident:_

_As you are not available at the moment, I have decided to address you in this letter. You did not have anything for shipment today. I come by at 5:00 PM everyday. Please deposit all items you wish to ship before this designated time. Thank you._

_Mineral Town's Shipper,_

_Zack_

Darn. I had forgotten to ship anything yesterday. Telling myself that I needed to shape up if I wanted to make any progress on the farm, I pulled out my watering can, filled it up, and began watering my plants. Every so often, Chestnut of Inu-kun would come by, and I'd chat a bit with them. Talk about trivial things. I had read somewhere that talking to animals regularly raised their affection towards the speaker.

At about 8:00 AM, I was finished watering my plants. I set out for the supermarket to get the seeds Karen had promised me. I was trying to get there without meeting anybody, but as I neared the supermarket, someone called my name.

"Jack! Jack! Are you busy?" I knew it was Thomas. _But why?_ I thought. _Why did it have to be Thomas? Why did Thomas have to live directly on the way to the supermarket? Maybe I can ignore him._ But I didn't want to be rude, so I turned and gave a nice, big, completely fake smile.

"Uh…no, Thomas, not at all," I said as I shook my head. So much for not meeting anybody on the way to the supermarket.

"Well then! Why don't you join me for breakfast with Ellen? It would be a great opportunity for you to meet more of the townsfolk." I nodded, but inwardly was thinking that I had made enough acquaintances in the last two days, and I really didn't need more. I didn't say that, of course.

I followed Thomas sullenly. He was chirping away about mayors and how they depend on farmers for food and blah, blah, blah. I smiled as he opened the door to the house we were going to. Just because I was being forced to meet these people didn't mean I had to be rude to them. Inside the house was an old woman in a rocking chair and a small boy with a mushroom hair cut running around. The old woman looked up. "Why, hello Thomas. Who is this young man?" The old woman's voice was soft and pretty. Thomas smiled and pulled me closer as if I was his most prized trophy.

"This, Ellen, is Jack Hawthorne. He is taking over the Alexandria farm. We are very pleased to have him here in Mineral Town." Thomas boasted. Ellen looked up and smiled.

"Well then. It's very nice to meet you, Jack. It's also very nice to hear that you're taking over the old farm. It's been out of use for so long…" Her eyes went misty for a while, as if she was remembering something, but she snapped back to the present quickly. "I do hope Elli has enough food for an extra visitor today…we were only expecting Thomas, you see." I smiled, happy for the excuse to avoid a social obligation with strangers I had just met.

"That's alright, I don't have to stay, and the farm is waiting, so…" I was cut off quickly by both Thomas and Ellen.

"Nonsense!" They both exclaimed at once. Thomas looked flustered, as if he hadn't expected me to offer to leave, but I didn't really care. What got me was the look in Ellen's eyes; it was as if she had offended me; as if she thought that I thought she wanted me to leave. Well _that_ was nonsense, and I'd prove it.

"Okay, I'll stay." I said faster than they had cut me off. Suddenly, the little boy, who had been quietly standing in the corner since I came in, suddenly went hyper.

"Yay! Grandma, Grandma, Grandma! Can I play with him?" He bouncing up and down, running all around, and twirling in circles. Ellen smiled.

"Stu, maybe Jack will come play with you another day. In the meantime, why don't you go get ready for breakfast? Elli will be back any minute now with the groceries, and she'll want to get straight to work without having to worry about you." Stu obediently went, and I was left with a question on my mind. I decided to voice it.

"Is Elli Stu's mother?" It was Thomas, however, who answered.

"Actually, she's his sister…but she might as well be his mother. You see…Stu and Elli's parents died a while back. Elli has been taking care of Stu as best as she could since then. She's only eighteen…but she's so mature for her age. And very kind."

"I told her that I could take care of Stu just fine, but she wouldn't hear of it," said Ellen. "She said, 'Grandma, with your bad leg you can barely take care of yourself, much less a ten year old boy.'. I hate to admit it, but she's right. She's not only become a mother for Stu, but also my caretaker. And that's much too much pressure to put on a teenager. Not to mention the fact that she's studying medicine with the local doctor. She says she wants to find a way to help me with my leg." Ellen shook her head. "She's a wonderful girl. She deserves the best."

We were all silent for a while, until a girl walked in through the door. "Hi Grandma, hello Thomas, hi Stu…and who are you?" The girl turned towards me. She was in a light blue and white dress, with short cut hair. Her voice was soft and pretty, just like Ellen's, but sounded much younger. Needless to say, she was pretty. I saw she was carrying some grocery bags.

"Elli! This is Jack Hawthorne! He is taking over old Don's farm and going to live there! We are all very pleased to have him in Mineral Town!" This was Thomas, of course. I wondered why he didn't let me introduce myself; I guess he was afraid that I wouldn't overemphasize my own importance. Either way, I stepped closer and reached for the grocery bags.

"Here…let me help you with those," I said, while taking both bags of her hands. She suddenly looked embarrassed.

"Oh…no…I couldn't have a guest help me with the groceries…did my grandmother invite you over?" Elli looked a bit puzzled. I didn't know whether to tell her that Thomas was the one who invited me over. Luckily, Ellen answered quicker than I could make up my mind.

"Yes, dear. I thought, 'what better way to make a newcomer feel welcome than by having him over for Elli's delicious meals?' I just hope he'll agree to stay…" Ellen looked at my with a devious twinkle in her eye, and I realized what she had just done. I couldn't leave now; Ellen had just said she invited me over. It would seem very rude if I just got up and left. I smiled at Ellen.

"Of course, ma'am. I'd be delighted to stay." Elli showed me where to put the grocery bags, and I went back to the living room. Once I sat down next to Thomas, he chuckled knowingly, pulled me down to his mouth, and whispered into my ear.

"Be careful of Ellen; she may have a bad leg, but she has a sharp mind!" he said, while chuckling.

"I'll keep that in mind, Thomas." I looked up just in time to see Stu running around in the kitchen. The same kitchen where Elli was cooking. She seemed exasperated. I frowned.

"Hey Stu! You still want to play?" Every one in the house looked at me with a puzzled look. Except Stu. His eyes grew big, and he ran towards me, and in a split second was running around my legs telling me all his favorite games. I looked up at Elli and smiled. She smiled back, shook her head, and went back to cooking.

By the time Elli said it was time to eat, I was beat. Stu had at least eight different games which involved me carrying him for long periods of time. If you've ever carried a ten year old for an hour without stopping, then you know how I felt. I sat down with others, Thomas on one side, Stu on the other, and we began to eat. Conversations were going on; I wasn't part of them. Elli was asking Stu how his week went, Thomas was talking to Ellen about the old days, Ellen was asking how studying medicine was going for Elli, Thomas was commenting on how Stu would make a great mayor when he grew up. Finally, when I was reaching for my third strip of bacon, someone said something to me.

"So, Jack. How is the farm treating you?" It was Ellen. I looked up. She was talking to me, that much I knew, but I had only been on the farm two days. I didn't know how to answer; that is, until Thomas jabbed me in the stomach with his elbow.

"Ow-o-o-ookay! It's treating me fine, ma'am." I smiled, hoped this answer would suffice, and was picking up my strip of bacon when someone else asked a question.

"So Jack. Do you have any animals yet?" Elli. I put down my strip of bacon; I probably wouldn't be getting to it anytime soon. I nodded.

"Wow! D'ya have any cows?" Stu smiled and looked at me with big eager eyes.

"Uh…no. Just a horse and a dog." I smiled back, but he seemed a bit disappointed. It was Thomas' turn to say something.

"Well, livestock can be pretty expensive. But, how could you afford a horse?"

"It was a sickly one, and it's only a foal. Barley gave it to me in return for my word that I'd take care of him." I looked around briefly, saw that Ellen was going to say something, and focused on her.

"Well that's very nice of Barley; and very lucky for you if you can make it healthy again! What did you name the foal?"

"Chestnut," I said simply.

"Wow…what a beautiful name…I'd like to see him some time…" This was Elli. She was probably talking to herself, but I answered her question anyway.

"You can, if you ever find the time. I'm sure he'd be happy to see more faces. After all, Barley said I should talk to him every day to make him happy, so imagine what two people talking would do!" I said. Elli smiled.

"Thanks, Jack. I'll remember that," she whispered blushingly. Thomas must have felt left out from the conversation, because he came rolling back in.

"You said you had a dog, right, Jack? I remember Don said Bertha had had a litter. What did you name him?"

"Inu-kun."

"That's a nice name, Jack!" It was Stu. "Grandma! I'm done with my food. Can I go to May's house?"

Ellen nodded. "Go wash up first, though. I don't think Mr. Barley needs greasy handprints in the farmhouse!" I took advantage of the moment to finish my strip of bacon. I felt like I couldn't eat anymore. Thomas looked at me and nodded. I took it as the sign that we should go. He stood up.

"Well Ellen, thanks for having Jack and I over. And Elli, thank you for the delicious meal. Each time I eat it, it gets better and better!" Elli smiled at the compliment.

"Well Jack, I assume you're going back to the farm?" Ellen asked.

"No, ma'am," I said, shaking my head, "I have to pick up something at the supermarket."

"Oh! I knew I had forgotten something at the supermarket! I still have to pay the doctor's tab!" Elli looked frantic.

"Um…why don't you come with me?" I suggested. "We're both going to the same place, no reason to go alone when we can go together."

"Really? Thanks! Okay grandma. I'll only be gone a little while. Can you handle Stu alone until I get back?" Ellen said that she was picking the orchard trees for fruit when she was eight years old so she could contribute to 'the war', and if she couldn't handle a ten year old boy after all her years of experience than she couldn't very well call herself a grandmother, could she? Elli took that as a yes, and, along with Thomas, we set off. In front of Thomas' house, he turned into go inside, but before he did he said:

"Jack, I hope the farm goes well for you. I'll be checking by regularly to see how you're doing. And Elli, I'll see you next Wednesday." He cheerily walked up the path to his house and went inside. I looked at Elli.

"Why does Thomas go to your house each Wednesday?" I asked. Elli smiled, as if she had been expecting the question.

"Well for starters it's not my house. I live in the doctor's guest bedroom above the clinic. Secondly, he says it's because the old people of this town need to see each other more often. And finally, he used to go on some other day of the week. But, once he couldn't make it and came on a Wednesday, which is my day off. Once he tasted my bacon he declared that he would come over on that day and that day only. I personally don't think my breakfast is all that great." She smiled. I realized that now would be the perfect time to compliment her on her cooking, but I thought about it to long, and the perfect moment became and awkward silence much too quickly.

We chatted once or twice on the way to the supermarket, she about medicinal things and me about agricultural things. It seemed that the clinic had run out of their best medicine, which needed some kinds of grasses in the forest that were very difficult to find. I told her that when I got the chance I'd try to pick some up and ship them. She smiled and said that'd be great.

When we got to the supermarket, Jeff was behind the counter.

"Jack! Elli! I bet I can guess what both of you want." He smiled and we walked over. "First, I bet Elli wants to pay off the doctor's debt." Elli nodded and pulled out the money. "And then, I bet Jack wants these!" He pulled some seeds out from underneath the counter and leaned in so Elli wouldn't hear. "Don't tell anyone about this. Karen and Sasha wore me out last night. But don't expect it to happen again!" He laughed good-naturedly, so I knew it was a joke. I laughed too, a bit nervously, and put the seeds in by rucksack. Elli smiled and put the money on the counter.

"I believe this will cover the doctor's debt." I looked at the money on the counter. It looked like a lot of money, and I wondered how the doctor could spend so much in only one week. Jeff looked worried.

"Um…Elli, I don't think…that is, this amount is too much…" he stammered. Elli just looked at him sternly.

"Is it, Jeff? I don't think it is." There was an icy air to her voice that hadn't been there before. Jeff stammered a bit, took the money, and thanked us both for our patronage. We nodded and walked outside. I had a question for Elli, but she obviously had one for me, and she beat me to the punch.

"Why did he say, 'Thank you for your patronage'? He never used to say that before; and anyway, he's the only shop in town. Where else could we take our business?" I already knew the answer to this question, but it had just dawned on me when we were leaving the building

"It's this Chinese man named Won. He's a traveling business man, and supposedly has exotic products. I haven't been there before, but it seems some people in town have." She nodded, and we walked in silence for a bit. However, my question hadn't been answered, and as we neared Ellen's house, I asked Elli, "Um…about back in the store. Why did you talk so firmly to Jeff? It did seem like a lot of money, and he would have been saving you some…" I stopped, because Elli was shaking her head.

"I'm sure you've noticed this already, but Jeff has no backbone. There's a man in town called Duke; he runs the winery. He's a decent, hardworking man, and fairly kind. But my grandmother says that when he was a boy, he used to bully Jeff around. Seems that he never stopped. He doesn't let the fists fly any more; but he runs up huge tabs at the supermarket. And Jeff doesn't know what to say, and so he lets him. Duke probably doesn't realize he's bullying Jeff, but the rest of the townsfolk do; including his wife, Manna. So, every once in a while, we add some extra money to our bill, to even out Duke's debt. Jeff would never accept out money on normal conditions, so we have to bully him into taking the money. It's a necessary evil." She sighed, but before I could say anything, she was walking down the path to her grandmother's house. Before she went in, though, she turned and said, "I had a nice time today, Jack. When you get the chance, you should come over some other Wednesday." I nodded, and she smiled and went inside.

When walking home I thought back on everything that had happened over the last few days. I thought that this place was going to be boring. I thought that Mineral Town, being in the middle of the boondocks, would be dull. That the city was the only place you could have any fun. But, it turns out I was wrong. I could find little dramas anywhere, as long as I looked hard enough.

At five o'clock, I had finished all my foraging for the day. My shipping bin was half full from the variety of grasses I had found scattered over the mountain. I had talked for a while with Inu-kun and Chestnut; I thought I was pretty good with them, considering the fact that I was horrible with animals back in the city. Now, I was waiting for this shipper guy, Zack, to come pick up my shipment. From his notes, I had an image of how he looked in my mind; medium-height, thin, and formal. The second he walked onto my land, however, I realized how off I was. He was tall. Very tall. Muscular. Not formal at all. In short, the exact opposite of how I pictured him.

"Oi! Jack! How are you doing?" He had a loud, friendly voice. "You have anything for me to ship today?" I smiled. He wasn't anything like I pictured him, but it wasn't a big disappointment.

"Yup. A whole bin-full of grasses. Took me a while to find them all, but I bet the profit will make up for all the work!" I said cheerfully. Zack opened up the bin and whistled.

"This is a good shipment; especially for a new farmer! I wish all the other farmers shipped this well when they first started out; but then again, I wouldn't expect less from Don's grandson!" Zack chuckled and I smiled. People actually thought that I was a natural farmer. For some reason, Zack's compliment meant more than I thought it would. When I first moved here, I thought I'd be an outsider, just like back home in the city; but I was making friends all over the place. Zack gave me 1000 G for my shipment, and then we chatted a bit about the weather, and he told me a bit about some other farmers that were on his route. Then, he told me about an old, abandoned farm.

"You know, it used to be a good farm. It was called the Nagasaki Farm. Its produce was the best every year; its livestock won every contest…but one day, a tornado came through. Plunged the Nagasaki Farm right into the ground. They gave it a good run for a few more months…but at the end, the Abe family gave up and left. It's free for the taking, but nobody wants it. Some people say it's cursed, but that's silly. I think that the people who do want to take it are afraid the same thing will happen to them, but that's just as silly. A tornado could happen anywhere. Nothing ventured, nothing gained." He sighed, and a cold wind whipped up. Inu-kun whimpered. I looked down at him and saw him shivering.

"Sorry, Zack, but it looks like Inu-kun is cold, I should get him and Chestnut inside." Zack nodded.

"Yeah. The cold winds keep up like this for a few weeks into spring. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Jack!" He walked away whistling. I whistled for Chestnut, and when he came, I led him into the stable on the far end of my farm. On the way, we passed my farm. It looked so old and weathered. I frowned. I'd have to ask Gotz to fix it up before I got some livestock. After putting Chestnut inside, I picked up Inu-kun and we went inside. As he curled up on the floor in the middle of the room, I listened to the whistling winds outside. Then, sitting on my bed, I opened up my notebook, pulled out my pencil, and began my letter to John.

_Dear John._

_What's up? Not much here. Farm life is a bit repetitive, but I'm making a lot of acquaintances. My grandfather left the farm in a state of disrepair, but I made friends with the woodcutter, and he'll probably help me fix up some of it. Life here is very different from the city, and I would expect that life in Forget-Me-Not Valley is even more different. There are a few nice girls I've made friends with, and some other people. The mayor is very happy I'm here, although from what I gather there are a lot of farmers around Mineral Town._

_Anyway, how's life in Forget-Me-Not Valley going? I hope all is well with you. I have a dog, Inu-kun, and horse, Chestnut, already. I am also planning on getting some livestock as soon as I have enough money._

_Mineral Town's Newest Farmer,_

_Jack Hawthorne_

I smiled, folded the letter, went outside and put it in my mailbox. Then, walking back inside, I stripped down to my underwear and went to sleep.


	4. Day 3 And A Half

_Akeno's Note/Disclaimer:_

_Akeno: I do not own Harvest Moon, or anything else for that matter. I'm only 14. Sheesh. _

_Gah. In a pathetic attempt to not be completely hated by all of my faithful readers, I needed something to post here until I could get the fourth chapter of 'The Beginning' up and ready for public eyes. So, here's a little filler episode that's not supposed to be taken seriously. It's more of a humorous distraction until I get the real fourth chapter ready for you guys. This chapter will only have dialogue. No blocking. So you're going to have to use your imagination to see what happens. It all takes place inside Jack's tiny little shack, so it shouldn't be to hard for you. And it sucks. Just don't flame me for this. I don't even want reviews. Just pretend that this chapter didn't happen; just hold on to that 'He posted, I feel appeased again' feeling. Anyways, take a look at chapter 3.5 of 'Friends of Mineral Town: The Beginning'!_

**Late Night Conversation Between Jack and Inu-kun: Day 3.5**

"…"

"…arr?"

"…mmm? Inu-kun? What's wrong?"

"….arf…."

"You can't sleep either?"

"Arf! Bark! Woof!"

"Right. Of course. You can't speak English. Oh well. What's up, Inu-kun?"

"Woof."

"Right. I still don't understand you."

"…"

"AW! Inu-kun! Not on my foot! I don't even have socks on! Gah, I just sit up for one second and you have to urinate all over me, don't you?"

"…bark…"

"It's alright, it's alright. Dang. Now my foot smells like dog pee. I wonder if it'll make my shoes smell like dog pee too…Jennifer would hate that. She wouldn't like her 'farmer chic' shoes getting stunk up with a dog's urine. Oh well. It's not like she'll ever know…"

"…woof?"

"Oh, that's right. You've never met Jennifer. She's my sister. She's about a year younger than me. She's the only one who actually had a good reason for me to come to Mineral Town other than she wanted me out of her life, like my parents. She was the one who reminded me of the girl I met so long ago…"

"Yip!"

"Oh yeah. You wouldn't know about the girl I met back then either, would you? Hmm…well…I don't remember much about her…she was pretty, I remember that. Not much else, though and – Hey! You aren't going to pull that trick again. I'm not going to walk around with two feet smelling like pee."

"Mmm…"

"Yeah, yeah, cry me a river. You want to see what's on TV? I'm bored, and I can't think of anything else to do. What do you say?"

"Yip!"

"I thought you'd like that. Alright. Let's see…how about…the weather channel!"

"…_and tomorrow, Mineral Town will be experiencing a scorching heat wave very uncommon for this time of spring…"_

"Boring. How about the news?"

"…_which brings us to the last festival, Horse Racing. Horse Racing has been banned as many local farmers began betting on themselves in the races, instead of giving fair game to the other competitors…"_

"Well that's a yawn-fest…although it does give me a few ideas…"

"Bark?"

"Huh? Oh right. Boring. How about…the help channel?"

"…_Here on KHLP, we are dedicated to helping all you fledgling farmers succeed in the cold, hard, heartless world of the agricultural business. We know that farming can be very, very hard, so we exist here only to help you! Today we will be covering how to plant your seeds…!"_

"As if a brain-dead monkey couldn't figure out how to plant seeds. Sheesh. I'm switching to the next channel."

"…_get ready, for ROBOTECH, the Macross Saga! Last time on ROBOTECH, Rick Hunter had just saved Minmei from…"_

"Awesome! ROBOTECH! That is one of the best shows I've ever –"

"_Fzzzzt…"_

"Gah...gah…what? The show just…stopped! All I'm getting is this little gray screen! What is this? What time is it?"

"Arf…?"

"Midnight. Midnight. Great. So the channels in Mineral Town get cut off at midnight. Perfect. Now what am I going to do? Nobody's awake, and the TV is down. What should I do…?"

"Yip. Bark. Woof."

"I am not going to go to sleep. I am going to sit here and stare furiously at the television."

"Okay. So it's been twenty minutes, and the channels still haven't come back on. I'm going to bed."

"Woof."

"Oh wipe that smug look off your face. I'll get you next time. Ungrateful dog, thinking he can outsmart me and whatnot…"

"Yip."

"Inu-kun?"

"Bark?"

"Do you…do you think I'm cut out for this? For the farm life, I mean. I…I'm just not sure…"

"Yip!"

"Of course. You can't speak English. That boosts my self-esteem so much. I'm talking to a dog. Might as well be talking to a brick wa – oh would you stop that? Now my bed sheets smell like dog pee!"

_Akeno's _Ending _Note:_

_Akeno: Ugh. This chapter didn't come out exactly as I planned it to. However, I passed my deadline by so much in writing this, so I'll just have to put more effort into the next chapter! Keep in mind that "The Beginning" won't last much longer…I planning on making a 'series' of the Friends of Mineral Town, and "The Beginning" will span the beginning of Spring and nothing more. Anyway, if you hate this chapter, good. It wasn't meant to be loved; it was meant to be a filler. Just don't flame me or anything. That'd be annoying. You don't want to be annoying, do you?_


	5. Day 4

_Akeno's Note/Disclaimer:_

_Akeno: I don't own Harvest Moon or anything else protected by law that may or may not appear in this fanfiction. Now, I'm sure you're wondering why it took me so long to update this fanfiction. Well, I'll let Inu-kun answer that question, by granting him the ability to speak English! Inu-kun, what do I blame?_

_Inu-kun: Akeno blames the reviews._

_Akeno: Exactly. I finished this chapter a while back. And then, I checked my reviews. I had one review. And it asked this: 'When is he going to meet Mary?' Well, I smacked myself. I had forgotten to introduce Mary. This chapter was going to be like this: exactly the same up until the point where Jack leaves the Harvest Sprites; then, I was going to have Jack talk with Carter and have Carter advance the plot. Instead, I revamped it so that Jack leaves Carter prematurely and meets Mary. And it took me a _long_ time. That's my excuse._

_Inu-kun: Pathetic excuse, if you ask me._

_Akeno: Quiet; I gave you the ability to speak English, and I can sooo take it away._

_Inu-kun: Oh yeah. And what was with that 'filler' story? Come on, that was the most pathetic excuse for humor I have _ever_ seen._

_Akeno: You really _want _to go back to barking in dog-speak, don't you?_

_Inu-kun: Whatev – woof! Yip! Bark!_

_Akeno: That'll teach you some respect. Ungrateful mascot…Anyway, without any more procrastination, take a look at the fourth chapter of Friends of Mineral Town: The Beginning; Day 4!_

**Thursday: Day 4**

I woke up worried the next day. I had completely forgotten the real reason that I had come to Mineral Town in the first place; to find that girl I met so long ago. But I had gotten nowhere in the last few days. I had a dream last night, which is why I woke up worried. The dream was entirely in black and white, so it could have been anyone of the girls I had met in the last few days. I felt dumb, but that was the distinguishing figure between the Mineral Town girls for me; their hair color. Popuri had pick hair, Elli had brown hair, Karen had blonde hair with brown bangs, and Anne had red hair. If my stupid dream had been in color I could've spared myself all this trouble. But no…I had to have an old school dream. And none of the girls had mentioned that summer so many years ago. Heck, for all I knew, the girl could've left Mineral Town. I sighed inwardly and let Inu-kun outside so he could pee, asking myself angrily why he would need to, seeing how he had urinated on practically every square inch of my house last night. I shoved on my shoes, ignoring the smell of dog urine on my feet. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, so I filled up my watering can and began to water my plants, remembering that the weather channel last night had said that it would be hot today. Then, I pulled out the bags of plants that Jeff had given me the day before. They were grass seeds, and they came with instructions.

"_Grass seeds should be planted off in one area of a field, away from most crops, so that when livestock feed, they will not trample or eat crops they shouldn't. Grass seeds do not need regular watering like most crops do. Grass can be used to feed livestock once fully grown._

I sighed and planted the grass seeds off to one side, in front of my barn, and then went to let Chestnut out of the stable. I smiled as he went galloping off toward the farmland.

That day, I quickly finished my chores. I got the honey from the bee's nest, and began making plans to fix up my chicken coop and barn. Then, I got a rag and began to wash the inside of my house; it was hard work, running to the little pond near my garden to soak the rag, running back to clean a part of my house, running back to get more water; it took me about an hour to finish, but my house came out looking good. I stood outside to look at my shack from the outside, and found that it would be much, _much_ harder to clean the outside than it was to clean the inside. Suddenly, Inu-kun walked up to me with my watering can, and I realized how stupid I was. I could have just filled up my watering can, brought it into my house, and use the water in it to soak my rag. I felt like slapping myself.

I groaned, fell to the ground and wondered what I should do that day. I decided to consult my map; it had helped me out so much before, it would be churlish to not ask its opinion now. I opened it up, set it flat down on the ground, closed my eyes, and randomly stabbed at it with my finger. I opened my eyes and sighed. It looked as if I'd be going to the Church that day.

"Well. That settles it. Once again, the map has helped me find purpose in what would have been an otherwise dreary day." I sighed. That would have been funnier if anyone had been around to hear it; and I hadn't been talking to myself. I shook my head to clear it and set off for the Church.

An hour or so later, I had said 'hello' to a few people who were walking the streets of Mineral Town, and made it to the Church. There was a guy about my age in the front pew, and a man up at the pulpit talking about a son who didn't know his mom died and so he wanted to buy an alarm clock. Right. If I said I understood that, I'd be lying. I sat down next to the guy in the front pew. He was quiet. I liked that; not many people had been quiet when near me in the last few days. But after a while, it got a little disturbing.

"Hey…I'm Jack. Who are you?" I said softly. It was strange; he seemed so detached, so uncaring. He looked up with a sad look in his eyes, but then smiled.

"Yeah…I'm Cliff. Nice to meet you, Jack," he mumbled.

"Same here," I said. I looked up at the man at the pulpit. He smiled down at Cliff.

"Hello, Cliff, always good to see you. Who is this?" His voice was kindly, like a good priest's should be.

"This is Jack, Carter," Cliff said. Carter smiled at me this time.

"Jack Hawthorne? That's nice; you're new here, right? Cliff just came to town a few seasons ago. You two should be pretty good friends." Cliff smiled and I nodded. Then, Cliff looked down at his watch.

"Oh; it's time for me to go. See you Carter; see you Jack." He got up and left. I stood up too, but Carter spoke to me.

"Tell me Jack. You are a farmer, right?" I nodded. "Good. You should go visit the Harvest Sprites. There's a little path that goes off to the woods behind the Church. If you're a farmer, you should be able to see them. They can help you with your farm chores, and if you're nice to them, they can become very good friends!" He smiled. "Of course, I've never seen one up close. They only let me catch glimpses of them when they play in the forests. And I'm sure that they only let me see that much because I'm a priest. But they'll help you. Be sure to give them some gifts, though!" I smiled.

"Thanks, Carter. I'll go see them right now." I began walking out the door of the church, found the little path Carter was talking about, and followed it.

After a few hours of walking through the forest, I began to feel…afraid. I saw patches of color flashing through the trees. I prayed to God that I wasn't going insane. Suddenly, a small man dressed in purple jumped out from behind a tree. I screamed.

"Oh my sweet god!" Actually, considering the situation, I thought I handled it quite well. The little man thought otherwise.

"Hey there, budum! You don't have to get so scared, I'm no monster!" I clutched my chest and began to breathe deeply. The little man smiled.

"My name is Bold, budum. What's your name?" I rubbed my eyes, but Bold was still there, so I decided to answer attentively.

"My name is Jack Hawthorne," I whispered, barely able to believe what I was seeing. He was a little man. And he was dressed in purple. It was crazy, and if it weren't for the fact that my knees were shaking so fast that I could barely stand I would have run away. I tried to smile, but I couldn't.

"Jack, eh? That's a nice name, budum!" Bold smiled. "So, what do you need, budum?" I steadied myself, and shook my head. Wiping my brow from the sweat that had gathered there, I responded.

"I-I just heard that the Harvest Sprites lived in the forest…Carter, the priest told me…he said that they could help me with my farm chores…but…" I looked down at the man dressed in purple, and slow realization came over me. "You…you're a Harvest Sprite!" I gasped. Bold chuckled.

"Hear that, Timid? Nothing gets past this farmer, budum!" Tiny laughs rang out throughout the forest, from who I could only assume were Harvest Sprites. Bold chuckled, and finally stopped. "Now, Jack, budum. I'd love to help you, budum, but…you see, the Harvest Sprites only help their good friends, budum. And I'm afraid we just met. Sorry, budum."

"Oh…well…" I stammered, but Bold just smiled widely and shook his head.

"I'm just kidding, budum! We're friends. But, I really can't help right now, budum. You see, Kappa's lake is a bit…dirty right now, budum, so…" I lifted a finger for him to stop; I felt it was rude to interrupt magical creatures, but I had no idea who or what 'Kappa' was, and thought I should know before we continued this conversation.

"I'm very sorry, but…what's a Kappa?" Bold giggled.

"To be honest, budum, I don't know for sure. I think, budum, that it's some kind of water spirit…thing, budum. But that's just a guess, budum. Anyway, Kappa's lake is dirty, so he's kind of staying with us for a while, budum. Just during the spring, though. So, we'll be able to help you during the summer, budum." I smiled.

"Really?" Bold shook his head.

"No! But it's funny to see that you believed me, budum!" The little voices in the trees tittered again. "Okay, I'm sorry, budum. You see, budum, Kappa is a horrible guest. He'll probably stay until next year, budum, at the least. But, if we ever have a spare moment, we'll try to help you with your farm, budum!" I grinned. Maybe these sprites weren't so bad after all.

"So, can I come back some other time?" I asked hopefully. Bold grinned.

"Of course, budum! We'll probably be having a tea party. Of course, we'll hide before you get there, budum. Only our good friends can drink tea with us, budum." Bold laughed, and the tiny voices began laughing as well. I frowned. So maybe they _were_ so bad. Not appreciating being toyed with by woodland creatures the size of my foot, I got ready to leave. Before I did, though, I remembered what Carter had told me; that I should give the sprites gifts. I reached into my rucksack and pulled out a bottle of honey. I knelt down and gave Bold the honey. Suddenly he stopped laughing.

"Why…thank you, budum. This is great!" I smiled.

"It's nothing, really," I assured him. Bold shook his head.

"No, no. This is great, budum. This is wonderful, budum. We are your loyal servants forever, budum! We'll do anything you want, budum! Anything!" he yelled with a crazed look in his eyes. I frowned nervously.

"No…that's okay…" I said uncertainly. Bold shook his head feverishly.

"No, it's not! Do you want me to go farm for you, budum? How about take care of your cows, budum? Or maybe −_ I cannot believe you fell for that_, budum!"he screamed at the top of his lungs. "My _gosh_ you are the most _gullible _farmer who's visited us in _years_!" he said, rolling on the floor with laughter. The little voices in the forest began laughing at the top of their lungs as well. I had half a mind to squash them all underneath my foot, but instead, I stormed off.

It was a while before I stopped hearing the sound of the sprites laughing.

When I walked out of the forest, the sun was high in the sky. I tried to see if my time telling skills were getting better, and did the math in my head. I woke up at about six thirty-five in the morning…it was an hour until I finished cleaning my house…it was another hour till I got to the church, so at about eight thirty-five I went into the forest. It was about three or four hours until I found the Harvest Sprites, and another hour until I got out of the forest. So, in total the time should have been…anywhere from twelve thirty-five to one thirty. I checked my watch. 12:56 PM. I smiled, praising my self, but my joy faded as I stepped out of the shade of the forest and felt the heat that the weather channel had predicted beating down on my head. Almost instantly, I began to sweat.

When I walked out to the front of the church, wiping my brow with my sleeve, I saw Carter standing there with Stu and a little girl, who I hadn't met yet. I smiled.

"Hi, Carter! Hi, Stu! Hi…little…girl…" I said the last part uncertainly, and it didn't come out as the nice conversation starter I intended it to be. Usually, I wouldn't care how 'nice' I sounded, but being laughed at by sprites really brought down my self-esteem a few notches. Carter smiled at me.

"Why, hello there Jack! Stu was just telling me that you visited him yesterday." Stu nodded excitedly.

"Yeah! You came over and ate breakfast with me! Didn't you, Jack?" Stu grinned, and his smile covered a third of his face. I couldn't help chuckling. The people in Mineral Town were so…innocent.

"Yeah, I did." Then, I slowly turned to Carter, as slow as I could without being rude to Stu. "Carter…about those Harvest Sprites; that Bold had a real attitude problem." Carter nodded knowingly.

"Yes; when I first became the Mineral Town priest, Bold threw eggs at me and ate my truffles; bit of a childish prankster, that one. But he grows on you. He can be a bit sarcastic at times, but he has a great heart once you get to know him. Every year, on the Starry Night Festival, he brings me a plate of food. Of course, Chef is the one who makes it; but it's the thought that counts." I nodded.

"Yeah; I'm sure he does grow on you. Still, he was a bit rude. There was no call for that," I said, a bit childishly. Carter chuckled.

"Yes; well, I'm sure you two will get along fine in time. Until then, though, try to keep making friends with them. Chef is one of the nicer ones, so I'd suggest starting with him." The little girl had been quiet this entire time, but now was looking at me with large eyes.

"H-hi…I'm…my n-name is….May," she managed to say. I smiled uncertainly, lifted my hand up, and gave a little wave. She giggled.

"Hi, May. My name is Jack Hawthorne. I live at the Alexandria farm." I said, with a little more self-confidence in my voice, hoping to make a good first impression. She looked up at me with large, happy eyes.

"I know…my granddad, Barley, gave you your horsie!" I smiled.

"Oh yeah…Chestnut!" I said, a bit more cheerily. May nodded solemnly.

"Um…yeah…you see…I was sorta wonderin' if…um…I could come visit him sometime? I mean, visit Chestnut…" she asked fearfully. I smiled even wider.

"Of course! Barley mentioned that you had your own horse…so maybe you could teach me how to take care of mine!" May giggled a bit more, and nodded. Carter smiled and patted me on the back.

"Well, Jack, what are you going to do now? There's a whole day ahead of you! Might I suggest that you go to a confessional? After all, you must have committed some kind of sin that you want to be cleansed of…" he said knowingly. I eyed him over curiously. Then, I sighed.

"I'm not really sure. I finished my chores for the day…but I haven't had a rest in a long time. I think I'm just going to go home and hit the sack," I said. Carter nodded.

"Yes…farm life is very hard, and I'm sure that no one would blame you for wanting to take a little nap here and there. After all, we barely see any of the local farmers around here; they usually just pop by for an hour or two to pick up some seeds, animal food, or catch up on their prayers, and then they leave. I don't know about everyone else, but I sure am happy that our farmer takes an interest in learning more about our town and its people." I smiled and waved as I walked away. Then, I let my head droop. Even though I had really just wanted to get out of the confessional, the truth was I _was_ tired. I was a city boy at heart, and all this farming had taken a real toll on me. I knew that I hadn't worked much…but before this I hadn't worked a day of hard labor. It was tiring. So I yawned as I walked down the path that led past the supermarket. Just before the turn that would lead to the path that would take me to my farm, I passed a large, stately looking building. I eyed it curiously…and then, a battle inside of me took place.

On one side was my exhaustion, continuously reminding me that I was tired, and that I could visit the building some other day. On the other side, however, was my curiosity, who said that if I didn't find out what the building was for, I'd hate myself for the rest of my life. My common sense told me that my exhaustion was right; I could always come back tomorrow to find out what was inside the house. But I had never listened to my common sense before, and I wasn't about to start then.

I slowly opened the door to the building. It creaked. I flinched. Once again, I tried to open it slowly, only to have it, once again, creak. Then I thought, the heck with it, and opened it quickly. It creaked much less that time, and I prided myself in thinking of it. Of course, my pride was diminished when I thought about how it had taken me two tries to think of it, and most would have thought of it after one. Tossing that thought aside, I walked into the building.

It was lit brightly, and had many shelves filled with books. One quick look around and I knew that it was a library. I sighed. Nothing important here. I had lived in the city my entire life, and there had been a library about two blocks away; yet I barely ever went to it unless I needed to do something for school. I shook my head. There was no reason for me to come to this library either.

"Oh! Excuse me. I didn't see you there…" a small, quiet girl's voice said from behind.

And suddenly, I found my reason.

She was beautiful. She wore glasses, but instead of hurting her, they increased he beauty. It made her look…innocent…and pure. And she looked smart as well. A frightened look was on her face, but it was evident that when she smiled, it doubled her beauty. She was wearing a nice, long dress, and she had long black hair. I smiled at her, but the frightened look on her face remained.

"Huh? Oh, it's no problem," I said cheerfully. She looked at me nervously, but not as frightened as before, so I took that as a sign that I was doing well, and continued. "Um…I'm Jack…Jack Hawthorne, from the Alexandria Farm…can I help you with anything?" Her face brightened significantly at my mention of helping her.

"Oh, no, that's alright. You see, I'm writing a novel, and I have a case of writer's block; so I was reading one of my favorite books, to try to get rid of it." I whistled softly.

"A novel? That sounds like fun…but it must be hard." She shook her head.

"At times, it is…but when you find something that really inspires you, it's the simplest thing in the world. Oh, but I've been so rude! I haven't even introduced myself yet! My name is Mary. Nice to meet you, Jack!" She smiled, and my suspicions were confirmed; she was much more beautiful smiling than she was when she was sad. Of course, I didn't dare say that…I wasn't romantic enough, and it would have sounded awkward. So I just stood there and smiled like an idiot. Mary looked back up at me.

"Um…did you come here to read a book? I bet I have some that you would need on the farm. And if you just wanted to relax, there are some good fiction novels scattered around…" she saw the puzzled look on my face. "Is something wrong?" I shook my head.

"Um…no, it's just that…this is your library?" I asked. She looked no older than I was…yet she was already running a library? I had always thought that librarians were old wrinkly hags…but Mary was not any of those. She smiled again and nodded.

"Yeah, it's mine…I've always loved books, so I decided to open up a library to let the townsfolk have access to wonderful literature…unfortunately, it's rare to see them here, unless it's a rainy day. Most of them have work to do. I suppose I won't be seeing you here very often either, right? Farm work is the hardest of them all…" She was still smiling at me…but now, it was a wistful, almost sad, smile. It hurt. I knew I had just met her, but it felt as if I had caused her this pain…and I think it hurt me more than it hurt her. I shook my head frantically.

"No! No, I'll come here as often as I can! Every time I have the time, I'll drop by and visit! I promise!" I said. Mary seemed a bit taken back at my sudden outburst, and I felt like smacking myself for being such an idiot. But then, she broke into a smile again.

"Really? I hope I see you around as often as you say I will, Jack. You seem like a nice person…" she said, with a wistful quality to her voice, smiling at me with large, shining black eyes. I blushed.

"Ye-yes…you will…" I said. Then, I gulped. "Um…I…I'd like to stay…b-but I have things on the farm, and…" she cut me off with a smile.

"Oh it's no problem! Thursday is one of the slowest days here at the library, and I was planning on trying to write some more of my novel. The point is, I was going to close up anyway," she said, a large smile on her face. I grinned stupidly.

"Um…so, is the library always open?" I asked, trying to figure out when I was going to visit this library.

"No; it's closed on Mondays, so I can go with my parents on our weekly stroll near Mother's Peak. You should go there sometime…the most beautiful flowers grow there…" she said, sighing contentedly and staring of into space, thinking, no doubt, of the flowers near Mother's Peak. I smiled, but her nose suddenly crinkled up and she began to sniff hesitantly. "Do…do you smell…dog urine?" she asked nervously. I felt my face flush, and I willed it away quickly. Of course, heat and dog pee don't mix. The stench of urine would have been multiplied in the heat that Mineral Town felt that day. I nervously scooted my left foot, the one that Inu-kun had peed on, away from Mary, and smiled dumbly.

"Well then…um…I'll see you later?" I asked, trying to change the subject quickly, and when she nodded, I took it as my cue to leave. I slowly closed the door behind me.

When I was outside, I gave a little sigh of relief. At least I hadn't made a total fool of myself in front of the girl, other than the dog urine 'incident'. At least she didn't know that I was the source of the…offending odor. I put my fingers to my temple and rubbed. Adrenaline had kept me happy and awake while talking to Mary; but now, I was exhausted beyond belief. I yawned and began slowly trudging back to my farm.

When I got there, an hour and a half had passed since I had left Carter. It was 2:26 in the afternoon when I got there, and I was beat. I walked into the shack of a house my grandfather had left me, gave an approving glance around at the new, clean interior, fell onto the bed without taking off my clothes or shoes, and waited the short time it took for sleep to overwhelm me.

When I awoke, three hours had come and gone. I sat up in my bed and rubbed my eyes. Stretching, I went outside. The sun was starting to set, and it cast a brilliant golden light on the farm. The small pond where I filled my watering can was reflecting the beautiful sunset. The fields, with turnip sprouts beginning to grow, never looked more beautiful. Chestnut galloped majestically off in the distance, and Inu-kun sat at my feet, panting and looking up at my contentedly. Zack was sitting on my Shipping Bin with a piece of paper, doing some math.

"Hello there, Zack! It's a beautiful sunset, isn't it?" I called out to him. He looked up at me and smiled.

"Yes, it is, Jack!" he quickly scribbled a few things down on the piece of paper and stood up, stretching. "You don't have anything for me to ship today. Why?" he asked, annoyed. It was his job to pick up the shipments, and if I didn't have anything to ship, then I guess he couldn't do his job.

"Ugh. Today wasn't good. I spent all day sleeping, doing chores, or walking through Mineral Town, so I didn't get a chance to forage for some wild grasses out in the wilderness. And I wasted my bottle of honey on an ungrateful little Sprite. I'll probably have something to ship tomorrow, though," I said, still drowsy from the nap I had taken. Zack sighed and crossed his arms.

"Well, I hope so." He stretched one last time and began to walk off the farm. Suddenly, he stopped and turned around. "Hey, Jack! I don't think I told you; somebody took the Nagasaki Farm just yesterday, and they're going to rebuild it!" I frowned pensively.

"The Nagasaki Farm? You were telling me about that yesterday…isn't that that farm that's cursed?" I asked. Now it was Zack's turn to frown.

"_Supposedly_ cursed. Anyway, the new guy's name is Ryuu Zakashi. Weird, reclusive fellow. He's strange, but Mineral Town's economy is heavily dependent on farms, and it's going to be nice passing the Nagasaki Farm and seeing it open again. Just think; two new farmers in less than a week! Mineral Town's budget will soar! Maybe we can finally afford some of the new things that Thomas is always saying are too expensive…" he muttered. I smiled. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, Jack! Try to get something to ship by then!" he called, waving as he left. I chuckled and picked Inu-kun up, walking to our house. The people of Mineral Town were so pure and energetic. I just wondered who this new guy, Ryuu Zakashi was…but that was a question for another day.

I opened the door to my shack, slung my rucksack over one of my bedposts, and let Inu-kun run around freely. It was only 5:30, but I was dead tired. I shed by clothing and lay in bed, but sleep didn't come right away. At first, I was plagued by the lack of things I had done today. I had reached no conclusion as to who the mystery girl from all those years ago might be; instead, I had added another choice to the already confusing repertoire, Mary. I had gotten no money, because I was too tired to pick grasses…today was more of a step backwards than it was a step forwards. I sighed, rolled over, and waited for an uneasy sleep to come.

_Akeno's _Ending _Note:_

_Akeno: Alright. I was going to take down the filler episode, but I didn't, because the whole 'dog urine' thing doesn't make much sense without the small tidbits of knowledge from that filler, and I was not about to rewrite this story _again_ just to help you people who _didn't _read the filler. And now, because it's boring when your mascot can't speak English, I'm giving Inu-kun back his ability of human speech._

_Inu-kun: Finally! Alright, Akeno. Why did you make me pee on Jack in the last 'chapter'?_

_Akeno: Because…because…be quiet, I ran out of joke ideas! Stop criticizing me! _

_Inu-kun: Wimp._

_Akeno: Be quiet; you were much cuter when you couldn't talk. Anyway, as said in last 'chapter's' Ending Note, I'm not going to make 'The Beginning' last much longer. I think I'll spread it out to the Horse Races, and then I'll start the next chapter in the Friends of Mineral Town Saga. But I digress. Ryuu Zakashi, mentioned above in the fanfiction, is not going to be a Gary Stu; although he is an original character, I'm sort of basing his character off what we know of Rion (Leon) from 'Harvest Moon: Song of Happiness', or whatever its name is. I forget; it has something to do with music. The point is, he will be very cool and calm and collected; but he is, in essence, Jack's rival farmer, and so he'll also be a major pain. Just letting you know…and yeah._

_Inu-kun: Okay. Our little note here is over. Stay tuned for Friday: Day 5!_


End file.
